ARTICLES MODERN

SYDNEY, Australia: Two Sydney adventurers left Australia in a kayak Tuesday in a bid to paddle 2,200 kilometers (1,400 miles) to New Zealand.

Nine months after fellow Australian Andrew McAuley vanished on a similar voyage, James Castrission, 25, and Justin Jones, 24, hope to become the first kayakers to cross the Tasman Sea.

“I believe anyone is capable of doing anything in their life if they truly believe it,” Jones said shortly before the pair departed Australia’s east coast at Forster, 280 kilometers (175 miles) north of Sydney.

The two friends hope their attempt will end a succession of failed bids by other kayakers.

McAuley, 39, vanished from his kayak on Feb. 9, when he was within 65 kilometers (40 miles) of Milford Sound on New Zealand’s South Island. His body was never found.

The pair believe that by traveling together in a custom-designed double kayak the unaccompanied crossing to Auckland will give them more safety than McAuley had.

Jones said he and Castrission expected to be hit by severe storms during the anticipated 40 to 50-day voyage.

“The kayak is designed to take 10 to 12 meter (33 to 40 foot) breaking waves, and we’ve got all the safety features we need so we’ll be able to ride out the storm,” Jones said.

The pair will keep in touch by satellite phone twice a day and a tracking beacon on board will transmit a signal to base every six minutes.